What is a daylily?

The daylily is a member of the lily family Liliaceae, as
are such plants as onions and hyacinths. Whereas lilies are in the
plant genus Lilium, daylilies are in the genus
Hemerocallis. Notice that we prefer to spell the word
"daylily" as one word. Many dictionaries spell it as two words. The
word Hemerocallis is derived from two Greek words meaning
"beauty" and "day," referring to the fact that each flower lasts only
one day. To make up for this, there are many flower buds on each
daylily flower stalk, and many stalks in each clump of plants, so,
the flowering period of a clump is usually several weeks long. And,
many varieties have more than one flowering period.

Why is the daylily the perfect perennial?

The daylily is sometimes referred to as the perfect perennial
because it is:

Available in a rainbow of colors and a variety of shapes and
sizes.

Able to survive with very little care in a wide range of
climates.

Suitable for all types of landscapes.

Drought resistant and almost disease and insect free.

Adaptable to various soil and light conditions.

Known to bloom from late spring until autumn.

Where did daylilies originate?

The genus Hemerocallis is native to the countries in the
temperate parts of AsiaJapan, Siberia, Korea, China, and Eurasia.

Since the early 1930s, hybridizers in the United States and
England have made great improvements in daylilies. Originally, the
only colors were yellow, orange, and fulvous red. Today, we have
colors ranging from near-whites, pastels, yellows, oranges, pinks,
vivid reds, crimson, purple, nearly true-blue, and fabulous blends.

Many people are familiar with only the common yellow or orange
daylilies which are often seen along roadsides. These daylilies are
cultivated forms of the wild types of daylilies which have "escaped"
and are growing as if they are wild. All the modern daylilies have
been developed through a complicated history of hybridization among
these and other wild types.

What are the parts of a daylily?

The daylily can be characterized as a clump-forming, herbaceous
perennial with fibrous or somewhat tuberous roots. The daylily has
four fairly distinct growing parts.

Roots

The roots of a daylily are long, slender, and fibrous. Or,
they may be enlarged into spindle-shaped tubers with additional
roots at their bases. The roots absorb water and minerals for use
by the plant, and serve as storehouses for food produced by the
leaves.

Crown

The crown of a daylily is the stem of the daylily plant. It is
the solid white core located between the leaves and the roots. The
crown produces leaves and scapes from its upper surface. The roots
are produced from its sides and lower surface.

Leaves

The leaves of daylilies are long, slender, and grass-like.
They have a prominent center rib on the underside. The leaves are
arranged opposite each other on the crown, giving a flattened
appearance which causes the plant to be referred to as a "fan."
Multiple fans of a single plant form a "clump."

Scape

The scape of a daylily is a leafless stalk which bears the
flowers. Most have two or more branches, each bearing several
flower buds. Below the branches, the stalks have a few leaf-like
"bracts." Sometimes, a small plantlet grows at the junction of a
bract and the scape. This is called a "proliferation" and can be
rooted to produce another plant.

What are the flower colors of daylilies?

Modern hybrid daylilies have a remarkably diverse color range,
especially considering that the wild types from which they have been
bred were only in shades of yellow, orange, fulvous (i.e., dull
reddish yellow), and rosy-fulvous. Today, the only colors notably
lacking are pure white and pure blue. Needless to say, hybridizers
are avidly pursuing these two colors.

Basic Flower Color

The outer portion of the daylily flower is considered to be
the basic color of the flower. The present daylily color range
includes:

Yellowall shades from the palest lemon, through
bright yellow and gold, to orange.

Notes: Buff, Brown, Apricot, and Peach are thought to be
variations of pink plus yellow. Near-whites are found among the
palest tints of yellow, pink, lavender, or melon.

Throat Color

The center area of the daylily flower is called the throat. In
most daylilies, the throat color differs from the rest of the
flower. Usually it is a shade of green, yellow, gold, orange,
apricot, or melon.

Stamen Color

Like the throat, the stamens may be a different color from the
basic flower color and the throat color. Or, the stamens may be of
matching color. Usually they are light yellow to greenish. The
anthers at the tips of the stamens are often darker in colorsometimes
black.

What color patterns are found in daylily
flowers?

Modern daylilies display a complex variety of color patterns that
were unknown in the original wild types. The patterns include:

Self

The simplest pattern in which the flower segments (i.e.,
petals and sepals) are all the same color (e.g., pink and rose).
The stamens and throat may be different.

Blend

The flower segments (i.e., petals and sepals) are a blend of
two or more colors. The stamens and throat may be different.

Polychrome

The flower segments have an intermingling of three or more
colors (e.g., yellow, melon, pink, and lavender). The stamens and
throat may be different.

Bitone

The petals and sepals differ in shade or intensity of the same
basic color. The petals are the darker shade (e.g., rose pink),
while the sepals are lighter (e.g., pale pink). A Reverse
Bitone has sepals which are darker than the petals.

Bicolor

The petals and sepals are of different colors (e.g., red and
yellow or purple and gold). The petals are the darker of the two
colors. A Reverse Bicolor has sepals which are darker than
the petals.

Eyed or Banded

The flower has a zone of different color or a darker shade of
the same color located between the throat and the tips of the
flower segments.

It is an Eye if the zone occurs on both the petals
and the sepals.

It is a Band if the zone occurs only on the petals.

It is a Halo if the zone is faint or only lightly
visible.

It is a Watermark if the zone is a lighter shade
that the rest of the flower segments.

Edged or Picoteed

On some daylilies, the edges of the flower segments are either
lighter or darker than the segment color. The width of the edge
can range from a very narrow "wire-edge" to as much as 1/4 to 1/2
inches.

Tipped

The segment tips, or more frequently just the petal tips, are
a different or contrasting color from the body of the segment
(sometimes for as much as one third of the length).

Dotted, Dusted

The surface color of the flower appears to be unevenly
distributed over the background color of the bloom rather than
being smoothly applied.

It is Dusted if the color appears to be finely
misted onto the surface.

It is Dotted if the colors are clumped into larger
pools.

Other terms used to describe uneven coloration include:
Flecked, Flaked, Speckled, and
Stippled.

Midrib

This is the center vein running lengthwise through each flower
segment. In some cultivars, the midrib is different in color from
the rest of the segment. The midrib can be flush with the surface,
raised above it, or recessed.

Diamond Dusting

Tiny crystals in the flower's cells reflect light, especially
in the sun, to give the flower a sparkling or glistening
appearance as if sprinkled with gold, silver, or tiny diamonds.

What flower forms are found in daylilies?

Daylily blooms have a wide array of different forms. These
include:

Circular

When viewed from the front of the bloom, the flower appears
round. Segments tend to be short, wide, and stubby and generally
overlap, giving a full appearance..

Triangular

When viewed from the front of the bloom, the flower segments
form a triangle. The sepals generally recurve.

Star

When viewed from the front of the bloom, the flower segments
tend to be long and pointed. There is space between the segments
and the shape looks like a three-pointed or six-pointed star.

Informal

When viewed from the front of the bloom, the flower segments
have no definable shape. Segment placement may be irregular,
widely-spaced, or floppy.

Ruffled

When viewed from the front of the bloom, the flower segments
have ruffles along the edges. Ruffles take many forms; they may be
tightly crimped, laced, knobby, or wavy.

Flat

When viewed from the side of the bloom, the flowers are
perfectly flat except for the concave throat.

Recurved

When viewed from the side of the bloom, the flower segments
flare, but the ends of the segments roll or tuck under.

Trumpet

When viewed from the side of the bloom, the flower form
resembles a true lily. Segments rise from the throat in an upward
pattern with little flare.

Spider

This form has long defied definition, however the segments are
much longer than their width.

A 1991 ruling places flowers in the spider class if their
segments have a length to width ratio of at least 5 to 1 (i.e.,
5:1).

A Spider Variant is considered to have a segment
ratio of at least 4 to 1 (i.e., 4:1) and up to, but not
including, 5 to 1 (i.e., 5:1).

Length is measured with the segment fully extended. Width
measurement is taken as the flower grows naturally.

Double

This form has more than six segments. Double daylilies, like
single daylilies, come in differing forms. For example:

The extra segments may appear as a tuft in the middle of
the flower. This if often refered to as a "peony-type" double.

They may appear as a second layer of segments on top of the
normal six, forming two blooms in one or a hose-in-hose effect
(like some azaleas).

They may appear as irregular or asymmetrical extra
petaloids.

What other characteristics are used in
describing daylilies?

Other characteristics often used in describing daylilies include:

Texture

Texture refers to the surface quality of the tissue structure
of the daylily bloom. There are three main types of texture in
dayliliessmooth, creped, and ribbed.

Substance

Substance is the thickness of tissue structure, or the ability
of the flower to withstand the elements. Substance varies from
delicate (i.e., a thin, fragile appearance, but still durable) to
heavy and leathery.

Size

There are three categories of bloom size in daylilies:

Miniature. Flowers that are under 3 inches in
diameter.

Small. Flowers that are from 3 inches up to 4 1/2
inches in diameter.

Large. Flowers that have blooms 4 1/2 inches and
over in diameter.

Height

Flower scapes are classified as follows:

Low. The scapes are from 6 to 24 inches high.

Medium. The scapes are from 24 to 36 inches high.

Tall. The scapes are more than 36 inches high.

Branching

Daylily scapes with no branching have slender shoots with a
cluster of buds at the top. Branching allows one scape to bear
from 10 to 100 buds. Branching may be described as multiple (i.e.,
a number of side branches) or "three-way" with the "three" (or
other appropriate figure) indicating the number of branches per
scape. There are three types of branching:

Top Branched, where the branching occurs only near
the top of the scape.

Well Branched, where the branching begins near the
top of the foliage.

Low Branched, where the branching extends into the
foliage.

Blooming Habits

Most daylilies bloom for a single day, beginning in the early
morning and lasting until the evening. There are three terms
necessary to describe the normal and the atypical bloom habits
found in daylilies:

Diurnal, which is the normal day-blooming daylily
type.

Nocturnal, where daylilies open late in the
afternoon, remain open all night, and close the following
morning or early afternoon.

Extended, where individual daylily blooms remain
open at least 16 hours. Both diurnals and nocturnals may be
extended bloomers.

Blooming Sequence

Daylilies bloom from early spring until frost, depending on
the coldness of the climate. To indicate when a particular
cultivar blooms during the season, daylily growers use the
following terms and abreviations (or symbols):

Extra Early (EE). These daylilies are the first to
bloom, and vary from March or April in the extreme South, to
May or June in the North.

Early (E). These daylilies bloom three to five weeks
prior to the mass of bloom at midseason.

Early Midseason (EM). These daylilies bloom one to
three weeks before the height of bloom of most cultivars.

Midseason (M). These daylilies bloom at the peak of
the daylily bloom in your own garden. This ranges from May in
the South to July in the North.

Late Midseason (LM). These daylilies bloom one to
three weeks after the height or peak of bloom in your garden.

Late (L). These daylilies bloom when most others
have finished blooming, usually four to six weeks after the
peak of the season.

Very Late (VL). These daylilies are the last to
bloom, often late in the summer in the South, fall in the
North.

Rebloomer (Re). These daylilies bloom more than one
time during a single season. Some of these bloom early (e.g.,
May or June) and then repeat in the fall. Others have a
succession of bloom periods, one shortly after another for
several months.

What are the foliage traits of daylilies?

Foliage traits of daylilies include color, size, habit, and
cold-hardiness and heat-tolerance.

Color

The foliage of daylilies can be blue-green to yellow-green or
any shade in between.

Size

Dayliliy leaves vary considerably from slender and grass-like
to husky, wide, and nearly corn-like. The leaves may arch, or may
stand nearly erect. The length of daylily leaves ranges from as
little as 6 inches to 36 inches or more.

Habit

The winter behavior of the daylily foliage is called "the
foliage habit." For registration purposes, the foliage habit is
loosely categorized as dormant, evergreen, and semi-evergreen.

Dormant. The leaves of these daylilies die
completely back as winter approaches. They stop growing and
form resting buds at the crown, and the foliage dies down
naturally and gradually. In the spring, the resting buds have a
distinctive spear-like appearance as they emerge.

Evergreen. These daylilies retain their leaves
throughout the year. They do not form resting buds. Instead,
they continually produce new leaves unless cold weather
prevents growth. In mild climates, the leaves of evergreens
remain green all winter. In the coldest climates, the foliage
of evergreens nearly always is frozen back, but the crown
survives if it is hardy (or well mulched).

Semi-Evergreen. Today, the term semi-evergreen is
used to describe any foliage behaviour which is not readily
classed as simple evergreen or dormant. Originally, the term
semi-evergreen (or conversely, semi-dormant) was used to
describe those daylilies which retained many of its leaves and
appeared somewhat evergreen when grown in the North, but lost
all its leaves and went dormant when grown in the South.

Cold-Hardiness and Heat-Tolerance

The cold-hardiness of daylilies is quite variable. Some are
iron-clad hardy. Others are extremely tender. Cold-hardiness is
not determined by the foliage habit. Evergreen, dormant, and
semi-evergreen can be anything from extremely cold-hardy to
extremely tender. To avoid risk of losing a cultivar, choose
daylilies which others have already grown successfully in your
climate.

What is the difference between diploid and
tetraploid daylilies?

Plants all have a basic complement of chromosomes. Most plants are
diploidthey have two identical sets of chromosomes in each
cell. Polyploids are plants with more than two sets of chromosomes. A
tetraploid is only one of a whole series of polyploids. Triploids
have three sets of chromosomes, tetraploids have four sets of
chromosomes, et cetera.

Tetraploid

Tetraploid daylilies are heralded by some growers as having a
number of advantages over diploids. In the tetraploid:

Flowers tend to be larger.

Colors of the flower tend to be more intense.

Scapes tend to be sturdier and stronger.

Substance of both flower and foliage tend to be heavier.

Vegetative vigor in leaf, stem, and flower tend to be
greater.

Breeding possibilities tend to be greater because of an
increased number of chromosomes.